3D Printing InfoPrinter comparison
ELEGOO Mars 5 Ultra vs Formlabs Form 4
Compare hardware, build volume, printing specifications, dated prices and sources.
2 selected · all documented properties
Open these two in the interactive comparisonMore ELEGOO Mars 5 Ultra comparisonsMore Formlabs Form 4 comparisons
| Property | ELEGOO Mars 5 UltraRESIN | Formlabs Form 4RESIN |
|---|---|---|
| Identity | ||
| Brand | ELEGOO | Formlabs |
| Class | RESIN | RESIN |
| Identity & Market | ||
| Manufacturer & exact marketed model name (verify the exact product identity first) | ELEGOO Mars 5 Ultra. Elegoo's product handle is mars-5-ultra-9k-7inch-monochrome-lcd-resin-3d-printer[1][2][3] | Formlabs Form 4 3D Printer[4][5] |
| Street price (USD; dated snapshot per entry) | $269.00 in Elegoo's live US product feed, in stock, checked Aug 2026. The Mars 5 Series collection page rendered $259.00 against a $338.00 compare-at price on the same day, so the two Elegoo surfaces disagree by $10[3][2] | Starting at $2,625.00 at GoEngineer, in stock, checked Aug 2026. Formlabs sells the printer as part of packages (Form 4 Complete Package etc.), so package prices are much higher than the printer-only figure[5] |
| Variants & sibling models — and how to tell them apart (spec-contamination risk) | Not a trim of the Mars 5 — a different imaging stack and a different release mechanism: 7-inch 9K LCD and 18 um pixels vs 6.6-inch 4K and 35 um, 150 vs 70 mm/h, tilt-release vs straight lift, an AI camera, and Wi-Fi added. Seven bundle SKUs pair it with Mercury Plus V2.0/V3.0 or Mercury XS at $363-$432[6][1][2][3] | Three machines share this platform and are constantly conflated. Form 4: 200 x 125 x 210 mm, 50 um pixels, 18.3 kg, 480 W, one resin cartridge, NOT biocompatible. Form 4B: identical hardware but validated for 38 Formlabs materials including 15 biocompatible. Form 4L: 353 x 196 x 350 mm, 46 um pixels, 58.5 kg, 900 W, two cartridges[4] |
| Physical & Frame | ||
| Build volume X×Y×Z (mm) — advertised vs actually usable | 153.36 x 77.76 x 165 mm[1] | 200 x 125 x 210 mm (Formlabs quotes 5.25 litres)[4][5] |
| Machine footprint (mm) & clearance needed (cable/spool overhang) | 260 x 268 x 451.5 mm[1] | 398 x 367 x 554 mm[4][5] |
| Net weight (kg) | Approximately 8.8 kg[1] | 18.3 kg[4][5] |
| Enclosure: open / enclosed; panel material; door/lid | Open-frame MSLA with a removable UV-blocking cover[1] | Enclosed cabinet with a hinged UV-blocking cover. Operating temperature 18-28 C[4] |
| Kinematics & Motion Hardware | ||
| Kinematics (bedslinger i3 / CoreXY / other) | MSLA with tilt-release: the resin tank tilts after each layer to peel the part rather than pulling straight up. Single Z axis[1] | Masked stereolithography (MSLA). Formlabs brands the engine Low Force Display; straight-lift peel[4][5] |
| Leveling & Z-Offset | ||
| Auto bed leveling: probe technology (inductive / strain gauge / load cell / touch probe) | Automatic levelling, one click, via an intelligent mechanical sensor. One-Click Self-Check routine. Alarms for resin shortage, residue detection and levelling failure[1] | Not documented |
| Electronics & Power | ||
| Input voltage (110/220 V, switch or auto) | 100-240 V, 50/60 Hz, 24 V 3 A[1] | 100-240 VAC, 4.8 A, 50/60 Hz, 480 W[4] |
| Total rated power draw | Not documented | 480 W[4] |
| Firmware & Openness | ||
| Firmware base & current version (Klipper fork / Marlin fork / proprietary) | Not named by Elegoo. Supported slicer is CHITUBOX[1] | Proprietary. Print preparation is PreForm; fleet management is Formlabs Dashboard[5] |
| Connectivity, UI & Camera | ||
| Display: size, type, touch? | 4.0-inch capacitive touchscreen (control panel — not the masking LCD, see W1)[1] | 7-inch interactive touchscreen, 1280 x 800 (control panel — not the masking LCD, see W1)[4] |
| WiFi (band/standard), Ethernet, USB ports, SD/flash-drive | USB and Wi-Fi[1] | Dual-band Wi-Fi, Gigabit Ethernet (1000 Mbit), USB-C 2.0[4][5] |
| Camera: built-in / optional? Resolution & framerate (verify — marketing often omits real fps) | AI camera fitted; Elegoo does not publish its resolution for this model[1] | Not documented |
| Camera features: live monitor, timelapse, AI failure detection (spaghetti detection) — how real is it? | AI camera detects empty build plates and print errors[1] | Not documented |
| Materials Support | ||
| Officially supported filament list | 405 nm photopolymer resin. No compatibility list published on this listing[1] | Formlabs resins across rigid, tough, general purpose, flame retardant, silicone, elastic, ceramic and castable families. Biocompatible resins require the Form 4B, not the Form 4[4] |
| Safety | ||
| Firmware safety limits (max temp cutoffs — exact values) | Overheating protection activates above 80 °C[1] | Not documented |
| Independently Measured Performance | ||
| Dimensional accuracy measurements (third-party, with numbers) | Not documented | XY dimensional tolerance +/-0.15% — a manufacturer specification, not an independent measurement[4][5] |
| Resin & MSLA | ||
| Masking LCD | 7-inch 9K monochrome masking LCD, 8520 x 4320 px, XY pixel pitch 18 x 18 um (manufacturer specification)[1][3] | Low Force Display masking LCD with a 50 um pixel size and pre-tuned anti-aliasing. Formlabs does not publish the screen diagonal or pixel count[4][5] |
| Light source | 25-LED COB light source emitting a 405 nm UV beam (manufacturer specification)[1] | Backlight unit with 60 uniform-wavelength high-power LEDs behind collimating lenses, with integrated cooling[4][5] |
| Light uniformity & intensity | 92% light uniformity claimed by Elegoo. No intensity figure published, and no independent measurement[1] | Not documented |
| Vertical print speedmm/h | 150 mm/h maximum, which Elegoo attributes to the tilt-release mechanism (manufacturer claim). Elegoo also offers switchable slow and fast print modes but does not state the layer height the figure assumes[1] | Maximum 100 mm/h; average 40 mm/h at a 100 um layer height (manufacturer figures — GoEngineer publishes both, which is unusually explicit about the basis). Formlabs separately claims most prints finish in under 2 hours[5][4] |
| Layer exposure times | 1.5-3 s layer cure time (manufacturer figure; layer height not stated). Sortable value is the midpoint[1] | Not documented |
| Layer height range | Not documented | 25-200 um per Formlabs' own tech-spec page; GoEngineer's listing for the same machine says 25-300 um. Unresolved[4][5] |
| LCD life & replaceability | Masking LCD protected by a scratch-resistant tempered 9H glass cover that also guards against resin leakage. Elegoo publishes no rated screen life in hours and does not state whether the user can replace the LCD[1] | Not documented |
| Resin vat & feeding | Resin tank supplied with the machine; resin-shortage and residue-detection alarms fitted. Capacity not published; no auto-refill[1] | Single next-generation resin cartridge; Formlabs claims 5-10x faster filling and 63% less waste. Resin tank rated for 75,000+ layers with any Formlabs material. No vat capacity published[4][5] |
Manufacturer claims, independent measurements, packages and test conditions retain their source wording. FDM linear speed and resin vertical speed use different units and are not directly comparable. Unknown values are marked “Not documented”. Prices and source dates remain historical snapshots; check the linked guide for product details. Differences highlight text, not a universal winner.
Sources for this comparison
- Elegoo Mars 5 Ultra product page (technical data and description) 3djake.com · 2026-08 · vendor
- ELEGOO Mars 5 Series collection (live US prices) us.elegoo.com · 2026-08 · vendor
- ELEGOO Mars 5 Series live product feed us.elegoo.com · 2026-08 · vendor
- Formlabs resin printer technical specifications (Form 4 / 4B / 4L) formlabs.com · 2026-08 · vendor
- Formlabs Form 4 3D printer listing store.goengineer.com · 2026-08 · vendor
- Elegoo Mars 5 product page (technical data and description) 3djake.com · 2026-08 · vendor